


The Thief and the Detective

by buckyismymainman



Category: DC Extended Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Capes, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Angst, Detective!Jason, Drinking, F/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Some Fluff, Swearing, Theif!Reader, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-20
Updated: 2020-07-15
Packaged: 2021-03-04 05:27:26
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,050
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24828310
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/buckyismymainman/pseuds/buckyismymainman
Summary: Jason has been tasked with finding a thief known as Shadow.  Little does he know he’s met the thief and has now started a relationship with her.
Relationships: Jason Todd/Reader, Selina Kyle/Bruce Wayne
Comments: 10
Kudos: 23





	1. Chapter 1

Jason looked up at the nondescript bar before him. There was a sign above it that read JO’S BAR AND POOL HALL. It looked seedy and like the type of place that shady deals would go down at. It was located out on the outskirts of Gotham where it wouldn’t attract a lot of attention from the cops who were more concerned with the more notorious villains running around.

This was where he had been led though in his search for a notorious thief nicknamed Shadow. There were whispers of her all through the downworld and Jason had followed them here. This is where his informants in the crime distracted said she may be found doing deals. He was hoping that he could catch her in the act, gather more info on where she lived, and then arrest her for her crimes.

He made it sound so simple, but in reality, there was going to be a lot of bureaucratic bullshit that he was going to have to go through to get a warrant for her arrest. Most people didn’t even know what she looked like, hence the nickname Shadow. Some believed that she had made a deal with the devil himself for her abilities to steal as she did. Jason didn’t believe in the devil nor did he believe in powers, she was just good at what she did.

Pushing the door to the bar open he stepped inside and looked around. There were a few patrons situated at the tables nursing their poison of choice. They merely gave Jason a cursory glance before going back to whatever was occupying their time before he had entered. Others went back to their game of pool, the balls cracking together as people took their shots. Behind the bar was a woman, she was wiping down the top with a white rag and she nodded to Jason as he walked over and slid onto a bar stool.

“What can I get you?” She asked, she wore all black and her lips were painted red. 

“Whiskey, dry,” he told her and she grabbed a glass and began filling it with his drink. “Interesting place,” he said. The walls were lined with old concert photos from rock bands long since run their course in the world. There were also photos of what appeared to be the same man - probably Jo - with possible patrons of the bar.

The woman grinned and passed his drink to him, “We get some interesting characters in here. Jo - the owner - likes the biker bar feel of the place. He also likes putting up photos from what he likes to call his golden days.” She rolled her eyes and slung the towel over her shoulder before leaning forward and resting her forearms on the bar. “Eighties hair bands and cheap alcohol is Jo’s bread and butter.”

Jason winced at the whiskey when he took a swig of it, cheap was right. “Then why do people keep coming back?”

The bartender shrugged, “Maybe because most nights its quiet, not a lot of the uppity city folk come around here. Gotham has a tendency to run places like this out of business so that they can make room for their posh bars and shopping districts.”

She wasn’t wrong with that sentiment. His adoptive father had been one of those uppity city folk as she had put it. He had tried to make Gotham a better place, run the criminals out, but in his quest to do that others had been shoved out as well to make room for the high rises and company buildings. Though Bruce had tried to keep the less fortunate in the city as best he could, but the others in his tax bracket weren’t so kind.

“And why are you working here?” Jason asked as he swirled the amber liquid around in his glass before looking back up at her. “Seems like you’d make more money somewhere else.”

The woman leaned forward so close that she and Jason were nearly nose to nose now, there was a hint of a smirk on her face. “Why the interest in my career choices, blue eyes?”

He blinked, surprised at how close she was, how he could smell her perfume. “Just general curiosity, trying to get to know the person serving me my drinks a bit better.” He cleared his throat and leaned away from her, feeling antsy under her intense gaze. “My name’s Jason by the way.”

“Jason, huh?” She moved away and began cleaning some glasses. “Anyone ever tell you that you look suspiciously like the disgraced son of Bruce Wayne?”

Jason stiffened in his seat and his glass paused halfway to his lips, “Maybe. Why is that going to get me into trouble around here?”

The smirk was back, “Nah, you’re okay. Bruce Wayne is one of the few good rick people, he’s at least trying to make things better.” She moved back over to Jason and crooked a finger at him so that he leaned in closer. He repressed the urge to shiver when he felt her lips brush against his ear as she said, “Though some might not like a cop in the bar.”

He pulled away and said, “Well then it’s a good thing I’m not on duty right now.”

She snorted, “As if that’d make a difference to some of the patrons.” She moved out from behind the bar and went over to clean a now deserted table. He watched her, it was just them and two other people. Jason suddenly seemed to remember why he was here, but there was no sign of Shadow anywhere.

“Can I ask you a few questions?” He asked hesitantly, he wasn’t sure if this was a good idea or not, but he needed to know some things and if she was here most evenings then maybe she could help him fill in some of the blanks. She came back over and looked at him and nodded her head. “Have you heard of the thief Shadow?”

She chuckled, “I think everyone has heard of Shadow at this point, Jason. She’s always in the news stealing something from some big shot. Let me guess, you’ve been tasked with hunting her down. Am I correct?”

“Yes, I got some intel from some of my contacts in Crime Alley that she sometimes makes deals here and that tonight may be one of those nights. Have you seen anything shady going on? Maybe a deal of some sort?”

The bartender thought over his questions, but ultimately shook her head, “Sorry, tonight has been slow and I think I would have noticed a deal going down here. I honestly haven’t noticed anything like that going on here so maybe they’re more discreet than you think.”

Jason had been afraid of that and hung his head, “Damn. I was hoping I could get a better lead. My contacts normally have good information for me, but they aren’t always the most reliable.”

“Don’t stress too much, I’ll keep my eyes open for anything major going down,” she promised.

“Thanks,” Jason scrawled his number on a napkin. “Call or text me with any news you may have.”

She hummed, “Can I call you for anything else?”

“Sure, I mean if you ever need anything at all--” He paused when he caught on to her meaning. “Oh you mean--”

She laughed and nodded her head, “You know for a detective you aren’t really that good at picking up clues.”

He huffed and rolled his eyes, “Well I wasn’t expecting to be hit on by you.”

“Really? I thought I made it pretty clear I was interested,” she shrugged her shoulders. “Maybe I was being too subtle.”

“Or maybe I really am the world’s worst detective.” He pulled out some cash and threw it onto the bar top. “Thanks for your help and conversation. Maybe I’ll hear from you in a few days.”

“We’ll see,” she said with that sly smile that seemed to get him flustered. What was it about this woman that had him so nervous.

She watched Jason leave the bar and pulled out her phone and dialed a number she knew by heart. “Y/N, what’s wrong?” A familiar female voice asked.

“There’s a cop onto me, someone in Crime Alley ratted out where I do my deals. I could be in danger.”

The person on the other end was quiet for a moment, “Don’t panic yet, let me look into this. I’m not going to let anything bad happen to you, Y/N. Trust me.”

“Always,” Y/N responded before hanging up the phone and tried to go back to work and focus on the tasks at hand.


	2. Chapter 2

The house was dark Shadow crept her way down the halls. She had gotten a tip that the man that lived here had recently acquired a painting from the black market. It was an original Rembrandt and had gone missing years ago. Michael Frazer claimed that it was just a copy of the original, but the evidence pointed to something else.

Shadow wasn’t about to let it fall into the hands of yet another rich asshole who didn’t need something else to brag about at those fancy galas that they threw. She rolled her eyes as she thought of the dresses and jewelry that the elite of this city would dress themselves in just to try and one up the others.

“Shadow?” Roy Harper was in her ear, he was an old friend and she sometimes called on him when she needed help with something important like stealing something as big as a painting. “Take a left up here, he has it hanging in the gallery.”

Shadow remained silent as she followed Roy’s instructions. She had earned the name Shadow, worked hard to be as undetectable as possible when she made her grabs at society's most precious items. Now she was stepping into the gallery looking directly at the Rembrandt that the man had bought. Roy whistled, he could see everything through a tiny camera attached to her suit. 

Seeing the painting she quickly got to work on bringing it down. A bead of sweat rolled down her face, this was the part that always made her the most nervous. She was afraid that she was going to set off a silent alarm and bring the GCPD down on her. She wouldn’t put it past the elite at this point since she had become more known after someone’s security feed had managed to snap a photo of her.

It had been just a dark shadow - how she had earned the name - but they had been able to tell that she was a woman and that she was the one stealing. The hunt had begun for where she was going to strike next, but that was the thing. They hadn’t figured out her pattern yet. They didn’t know why she was stealing the things that she was stealing.

Her mind drifted to Jason as she worked. Would he be the one to figure it out? She smiled slightly at the thought of him working on this case. Was he stooped over his desk right now? Or was he standing in front of one of those boards where they tacked up the photos from the crime scenes? She could practically see the wheels turning in his head as he worked.

“Shadow, hurry it up, I don’t like sitting out here like this. I feel like a sitting duck.”

Her mind snapped back to the present and she finished hefting the photo off the wall. Moving to a window she pushed it open and began lowering it down to Jade - Roy’s wife - who was then to load it into the van while Shadow got out of the building. She was heading back out when she was blinded by a flashlight.

“Freeze! GCPD, put your hands up!” 

Her face was protected by a mask and her hair was in a wig so that if a situation like this ever arose no one would be able to know it was her. “Evening officer,” she said with a smirk on her face. “Lovely weather we’re having tonight.”

“Shut up,” the officer snapped. “Get on your knees, hands above your head.”

Y/N had been trained for this exact situation before. It had been ingrained in her that sometimes shit was gonna hit the fan and you have to be ready for that. Even if you have a moniker that instills a facade of mystery and that makes you seem unattainable there is always a chance. This was one of those chances.

The officer was inching closer as she lowered herself down to the ground. When he was near her that was when she struck. She moved quickly, kicking the officer’s legs out from under him and dashing down the hall toward the room she had just come from. “Speedy, you better have the van on!”

“What’s going on Shadow?” Concern was lacing his voice.

“GCPD is here, we gotta make this quick,” she slammed the door to the gallery shut behind her and shoved a bench in front of it before hurrying to the window and flinging it open. She could see the van idling by the road and she could hear the officer and what sounded like backup pounding on the door.

Securing a rope around a couch leg she quickly began lowering herself out the window and down to the garden below. She could still hear the pounding on the door and her heart was racing, they could still catch her. Maybe someone was coming around the house to where she was. There was no time to panic, if she was caught then Roy had strict instructions to run and leave without her. That painting could not end back up in this man’s hands.

When she was just a few feet off the ground she dropped and heard the door bang open at the same time. The officers rushed to the window but they only saw her retreating figure and the van that she was running too.

“This is Officer Matthews, Shadow has a partner in an old black van. Be advised they are in an old black van, I can’t read the plates.”

As soon as she was in the van Roy took off. “We’re gonna have to get rid of the van now,” she said with a toothy grin as Roy rolled his eyes.

“What the hell happened back there?” He was speeding down the road trying to get to a safe spot where they could ditch the van. 

Y/n was glancing in the rear view mirror to make sure that they weren’t being tailed by anyone. “I don’t know, I must have tripped an alarm or something. When I went to leave there was a cop and suddenly I’m hurling myself out of a window.”

“Turn up here,” Jade instructed Roy and they turned down an alley with a new car. The three of them got out and quickly moved the painting to the trunk of the car before Roy lit the van on fire. “It won’t be long before they discover the van, please tell me the warehouse is ready,” Jade turned to Y/N for confirmation.

“My people should be there and ready to go with all the necessary preparations,” she informed her two friends.

The three of them were off and heading in the opposite direction from the home Y/N had just robbed. Several police cars went speeding by them and they held their breath waiting to see if they would come back, but they never turned around. They managed to make it to Y/N’s warehouse without further complications and Y/N’s crew leapt into action without much prompting from her.

Roy and Jade stood back and let the others work as they carefully boxed the piece of art up and got it ready to ship off to another state before heading to a museum in Paris. Y/N walked over once she was sure that her team had everything under control. Her mask was gone and so was the wig, “Thanks for the help tonight, guys. I couldn’t have done it without you.”

“Yeah well next time try not to get caught in the middle of your escape,” Roy said as he tugged her in for a hug. “Scared me half to death.”

Y/N chuckled and hugged him back, “Have a good evening you two, don’t get into too much trouble without me.”

Roy took Jade’s hand and the two of them left together, Y/N watching a little enviously as she thought about going back to her apartment all alone. For the second time that night her mind drifted to Jason and their conversation from before. She thought about his number saved on her phone waiting to be used. A part of her wanted to send him a flirty message and see how he was, the other part of her was screaming that it was too dangerous, that he was looking into her.

Throwing caution to the wind she pulled her phone out of her pocket and shot a text to the detective.

**Y/N:** How’s the world’s worst detective this fine evening?

It took a few minutes, but he responded.

**Detective:** Still working on this case I came in asking about. What’re you up too? Slow night at Jo’s?

**Y/N:** I’m not on shift tonight, I’m actually at home curled up with a good book

**Y/N:** I was wondering if you wanted to do something one day this week.

**Detective:** I’d like that a lot actually. What’d you have in mind?

**Y/N:** How about I surprise you. If you can, meet me at Jo’s on Friday night around eight and we’ll go from there

**Detective:** Sounds good to me, I’ll see you then

Y/N closed out of their messages and slid her phone back into her pocket. Her mind was telling her that she was being idiotic for doing this, that this wasn’t going to end well for her. It was too dangerous to keep him close like this.

It was a good thing then that she didn’t mind a little danger.


End file.
